LIBRARY 2.0 - OPPORTUNITIES FOR LIBRARIES

Library 2.0 simply means "making your library's space (virtual & physical) more interactive, collaborative and driven by community needs.
The basic drive is to get people back into the library by making it relevant to what they want and need in their daily lives....to make the library a destination and not an afterthought".... Sarah Houghton ( Lib).

The key principles of Library 2.0 are not just about access to books and information.

Library 2.0 is about innovation, about people, and about community building, enabled through the participation that social computing brings.
It achieves this through trust and encouraging users to share ideas through writing, rating, and commenting against everything in the library's collection.

I stand just to the right on the Library 2.0 spectrum.

Completing Library2.0 has increased my awareness and interest in the vast array of social networking tools available and has motivated me to explore further.

I believe Sutherland Library utilises aspects of Library2.0 very effectively in that they use Blogs, RSS feeds and Flickr and about to provide downloadable audio.
I can see where Podcasts/Vodcasts on tutorials, guest speaker talks, guided tours, childrens' activities would enable users the flexibility to view at their leisure.

Myspace/Facebook would be a good medium to post a newsletter to teens/young adults or appeal to different interest groups. This tool would require high maintenance by very dedicated staff to keep it current.

IT staff would need to be supportive of Library 2.0 in all aspects to continue to make it a viable and ongoing proposition.

I believe , in the 21st century, library professionals will encounter a world where playing with a new tool, experiencing things without fear of failure and spending time trendspotting and keeping and eye on emergent technologies will be built into our jobs.

We'll be expected to play. We'll be expected to be connected. We'll be expected to collaborate with each other and our users.

To be successful, we'll need to understand how social networks impact our libraries and our profession.

The most effective libraries of the future will be those that seek to make a personal and emotional connection with users.